Attempted Abduction / Stranger at the door - Two Scenarios That Actually Occured

This will be long.

I don't post here often, as evident by my post count, but recently I've had two things happen that I thought were worth sharing.

First off, I'd like to say that I don't live in a "bad" neighborhood. Yes, I know bad things can and will happen everywhere, but our block is generally peaceful. None of the neighbors really talk to each other, but it's never anything negative. With that said, I'd also like to say that I live one street over from a major road, and a few blocks from the start of the city (not saying the city is necessarily bad, but you understand what I mean)

Now that you understand that it's the typical suburban neighborhood, I'd like to share with you two separate scenarios that actually happened.

The first one occurred a couple of weeks ago. There was a young lady who was on her way to work through my neighborhood (remember, the "good neighborhood"?). It was around 3 in the afternoon when she had someone approach her from behind, claim he had a knife, and attempt to drag her into the alleyway behind my home. Again, this was all in broad daylight.

Luckily, this has a happy ending. A passing motorist saw this happen and got out of her car to confront the young man and he chose to run instead of fight.

As it turns out, I also know this young lady because I work with her. I spoke with her afterwords and got her account of the story and I think you'll see a pattern of why her assailant might have targeted her.

She said she was walking down the street and noticed that a man was behind her, but didn't think anything of it. She also had her headphones in both ears and was on her phone.

Just another warning to anyone who may forget: Be Aware, Always. Thankfully this turned out okay. They never did catch the guy though.

Now for the second story.

This actually just happened a few hours ago, and I'm still going over it in my head trying to see if there was a way I could have handled it better.

At around 4:30 pm, our doorbell rang. I knew immediately it wasn't someone familiar with our family because no one rings the bell here (the dogs go nuts). So I made my way to the door, and looked through the small window at the top to see who it was and I saw a lady standing on my porch. She was now hitting the doorbell like she was on some kind of game show ie: incessantly.

Since I didn't see anyone else besides her outside, and I would have if there were anyone else, I opened the door and stepped out, making sure to close the inner door behind me. She was a mid-forty something woman who looked very distressed, and the first words out of her mouth were "I was attacked".

Now, let me clarify some more. I'm 19 years old. I'm not able to conceal a handgun yet, and I refuse to open carry until I have way more experience and training under my belt. My options might be different than others on this board. I carry a knife and pepper spray on my belt, not a gun.

So my first instinct was to scan for her attacker to make sure he wasn't about to come charging at the both of us, but the only thing I saw was a red minivan parked on the other side of the street. I assumed that it was hers (I had never seen it in the neighborhood before). I asked her again to clarify now that I was reasonably sure we weren't in immediate danger and it was then she said that a police officer attacked her.

I know, the bells went off in my head too.

She showed me a rip in her sweater, a large one that did indeed looked like it had been caused by a struggle. I asked her what she meant, but before she could even answer, a siren sounded near by and she pushed against me and into the house.

Once inside, she kept relaying her story of how she was attacked by a police officer and was being harassed by a "crooked" cop. She was pretty hysterical. My mother, who was trying to get ready in the meantime, was trying to talk to her but it wasn't helping, and they just kept getting louder and louder trying to talk over each other.

I kind of stepped in between, metaphorically, and got her talking to just me. She didn't look high or drunk, so I wanted to just keep her busy while trying to get my mother to call the police. Generally, her story didn't make a lot of sense, and she was definitely hiding something.

She said she was out of gas and asked if we had any. We did, but I was stuck on whether or not we should give it to her. She also began asking if she could stay in the house until it got darker so travel would be easier for her.

Well, obviously we didn't want her in the house since we didn't know the whole story, so eventually she got the gas and left.

After my mother called to report it, we were told to type up a report of what happened and email it to the officer that had tried to arrest her earlier.

I got a call from the "crooked" cop a little while later and he asked me to tell him everything that happened. Apparently, she had warrants from another county and he was trying to take her in and she resisted, fleeing the scene and ending up on our street.

Looking back on it all now, there are a couple glaring mistakes I made that I know will be pointed out, but it's all for the better.

1.) I let a stranger into the home after hearing she had been "attacked" by the police. I only had a few seconds to absorb all the information being thrown at me, but I'm still beating myself up over this.

2.) I didn't get her out of the house fast enough. I don't know why I didn't just let her take the gas the first time she said something about her. The only thing going through my head was that I might get in trouble with the police.

The things I think I did well:

1.) I kept the situation from escalating. The discussion between my mother and the lady got fairly heated and loud for a moment, and I didn't want anything to happen, so I did something about it.

2.) Reported the situation immediately and gave a full report of what happened. I think this goes without saying.

Any thoughts?

October 27th, 2011, 09:26 PM

oakchas

first scenario... yes, be aware ... don't zone out.

Second scenario... I don't think I'd have gone out on the porch, but I would have offered to call 911 for her...

Isn't it funny how only crooked, dirty cops ever arrest people... The good cops must all be behind desks, and they let the lunatics out on the street! sheesh.

October 27th, 2011, 09:48 PM

DefConGun

I think you handled this situation very well. I realize that things happen so fast that we don't always have time to think things all the way through. I think you're right about keeping a stranger out of the house in the future but like I said, you don't always think of all of the contingencies when you've had little time to prepare.

It sounds like you have good situational awareness so start training, if you haven't already done so, so you can carry whenever you can legally do so.

The thing about asking if she could stay until it got dark would be a huge red flag for me and I'd probably call the police while she was there but that is something that is neither here nor there at the moment.

You did well.

Keep and eye out like you have been and stay safe!

October 27th, 2011, 10:02 PM

MitchellCT

Quote:

Originally Posted by PARandom

Any thoughts?

People lie.

Don't trust them.

Get training from a reputable instructor.

Do not get involved in other people's problems without knowing as much as you can about the situation and having a way out. Their are exceptions to that rule...but they are few & far between.
Nothing beats a 911 call if you aren't sure. The cops will NEVER fault you for calling then when something seems hinky. Seriously, if it seems odd, or you think "This may be bad.." 911 NOW

Was she hot? If so, trust her less than you would normally. Hot chicks are great at lying to men.

October 27th, 2011, 10:13 PM

RETSUPT99

Don't trust anyone...Stay armed...stay alert...stay safe!

I know that you said that you can't be armed, yet...so start working on your SA now...911 can be your friend.

October 27th, 2011, 11:04 PM

PARandom

Thanks for the insight. Just from reading the news I can tell it's not a good idea to trust people, and like I said I'm still feeling crappy that I allowed her to get in.

October 27th, 2011, 11:04 PM

Eagleks

Funny thing.... if I open the door, no one wants to come in.

When I do answer the door and someone has said , "can I talk to you a minute" , I say sure.... and open the door wider, and my 3 dogs go nuts on them. Usually they look at them, eyes get big, and suddenly they don't want to be around much longer and leave. Never have found out what they wanted. LOL.

October 28th, 2011, 06:31 AM

Sticks

You have already cited your errors in your second event. Learn from them and do not do a free repeater.

October 28th, 2011, 06:52 AM

archer51

Life is a learning experience. The trick is to learn from your experiences. You see the mistakes you made in the second scenario, file them away in your memory so you can draw on them if the situation comes up again.

October 28th, 2011, 07:21 AM

dukalmighty

You may not be able to carry concealed off your property,but what does the law state about in your home and or on your property,number 2 as soon as she heard a siren and pushed past uninvited,she was TRESPASSING,and here she would have been asked to leave at gun point,as soon as she stated she was attacked by a COP,call would have went out to 911,if she was attacked by an LEO I would have relayed INFO to 911.
Usually you learn things over time,at 19 your still looking for the good in people and wanting to be a good samaritan,at 53 I'm looking for stuff that don't make sense and even tho I will help people in need,if it sounds "hinky" I'm gonna get em checked out by people that can run their info first

October 28th, 2011, 11:27 AM

tcox4freedom

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagleks

Funny thing.... if I open the door, no one wants to come in.

When I do answer the door and someone has said , "can I talk to you a minute" , I say sure.... and open the door wider, and my 3 dogs go nuts on them. Usually they look at them, eyes get big, and suddenly they don't want to be around much longer and leave. Never have found out what they wanted. LOL.

That is funny!

The same thing happens at my house.

October 28th, 2011, 11:44 AM

MadMac

I'll never understand why people feel compelled to open up their houses to any loon that rings the doorbell. I have posted my family rules here repeatedly.

We NEVER open up our door to ANYONE unless 1) we know the person well (friend, neighbor, or relative), or 2) we scheduled the visit, and have positive proof the caller is the person we requested come over: e.g., ID card/business card from a tradesman. If someone on the porch is screaming they need help, we'll happily dial 911 for them from behind our locked door. If they claim they need gas/car help, we'll call AAA for them - again, from behind the locked door. We don't have dogs, and nothing ever good comes from whipping open your door to a stranger. Nothing. At best, they are going to try to get you to part with some money. I don't donate to charity or buy products or services from people who simply show up at my door.

We leave the Girl Scouts, salesmen, poll takers, and others standing on the porch until they decide to leave. If they don't leave after a reasonable time, we'll call the police.

The single biggest mistake you made was opening your door. Learn from it.

People who stuff earphones in their ears while outdoors or while driving are asking for trouble. I often ride my bicycle through the park, and I have a bell to warn pedestrians I am passing them. There are always those fools with earbuds or even big headphones completely unaware of their surroundings. They are a danger to themselves and others.

October 28th, 2011, 02:35 PM

oakchas

Quote:

People who stuff earphones in their ears while outdoors or while driving are asking for trouble. I often ride my bicycle through the park, and I have a bell to warn pedestrians I am passing them. There are always those fools with earbuds or even big headphones completely unaware of their surroundings. They are a danger to themselves and others.

Bell? I'm thinkin' air horn.

October 28th, 2011, 02:40 PM

azchevy

If I don't know you, or I am not expecting you, I don't answer the door. PERIOD. I don't care who you are or what your issue is. No exceptions. Knock all you want.

October 28th, 2011, 03:22 PM

adric22

Quote:

Originally Posted by azchevy

If I don't know you, or I am not expecting you, I don't answer the door. PERIOD. I don't care who you are or what your issue is. No exceptions. Knock all you want.

Seems quite a few people here would agree with you on this.. Maybe your way is the "best" way to go about things, but I just don't feel right about it. For one, it seems rude. True, it is rude to people I don't know, but it would still feel rude to me.

However, I try to always answer the door with a gun on my hip. The salesmen and Jehovah's witnesses and the like seem to lose a lot of enthusiasm for some reason. If it is late at night, I open the door but I keep a chambered gun in my hand on the back side of the door where they can't see as I carefully open it. And we have security cameras too, so I always have a good look at whoever it is before opening the door. If they looked like they were armed or something I probably wouldn't open the door. If it is girl scouts, I hate to say it, but I usually buy from them.

As far as the original poster is concerned, I might have done the same thing. I've never heard a story like this and it would have taken me by surprise and I might not have known what to do given only a few seconds to consider the possibilities. However, now that I have read the story, should it ever happen to me I'll know better how to respond.